Abortion Law: Current Complexities And Confusion

The legal status of abortion in the United States has been in flux since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. While abortion is not banned nationwide, the decision has allowed individual states to enact their own abortion laws, resulting in a fragmented landscape of abortion rights and access across the country. As of October 2024, 14 states have made abortion illegal, with varying degrees of restriction, while four states have banned the procedure after approximately six weeks of pregnancy. The battle for abortion rights continues to be fought in state legislatures and courts, with legal challenges and ballot measures seeking to protect or restrict abortion access.

Abortion is banned in 14 states

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had established abortion as a fundamental right. This decision has opened the door for individual states to ban abortion outright, and 14 states have since made abortion illegal. This has resulted in a deeply uneven landscape, with access to abortion clinics cut off across much of the South and Midwest, but still standing strong on both coasts.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has had a significant impact on abortion access in the United States. The 14 states that have enacted near-total abortion bans include:

• Georgia
• South Carolina
• Florida
• Iowa

These states have banned abortion past roughly six weeks of pregnancy, which is often before many people know they are pregnant. This has effectively made abortion illegal in these states. Additionally, four states have banned abortion after 12-13 weeks, and another four have banned it after 15-18 weeks.

The fight over abortion rights is ongoing in state legislatures and courts. For example, in Georgia, a judge struck down the state's six-week abortion ban in September 2024, but the Republican attorney general appealed, and the state supreme court reinstated the ban. These legal challenges are being closely tracked as they make their way through the courts, as they have significant implications for people's access to safe and legal abortions.

It is important to note that abortion is not banned nationwide, and it is still legal in many states. People seeking an abortion can also travel to a different state to access abortion services. However, this can be challenging, especially for those with low incomes who may not have the resources to travel long distances or arrange lodging.

Four states have banned abortion after six weeks

In the United States, abortion laws vary from state to state following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. This ruling eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, allowing individual states to determine their own abortion policies. As a result, abortion laws across the country have become highly inconsistent, with some states banning the procedure altogether, while others continue to provide access.

As of October 2024, 14 states have enacted near-total abortion bans, with four states—Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Iowa—going a step further by banning abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy. This six-week timeframe is significant because, by this point, many women may not even be aware that they are pregnant.

Georgia's six-week abortion ban, in particular, has had a tumultuous legal journey. Initially, a judge struck down the ban in September 2024, deeming it a violation of privacy rights under the state constitution. However, the state's Republican attorney general appealed, and within a week, the Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the ban while the appeal proceeds. This series of events exemplifies the ongoing legal battles and uncertainties surrounding abortion laws in the post-Roe era.

The consequences of these abortion bans are far-reaching. States with the most restrictive abortion laws report higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as greater economic insecurity. Furthermore, the lack of uniform abortion laws across states has resulted in an uneven landscape, with access to abortion clinics largely cut off across the South and Midwest but remaining available on both coasts.

The impact of these state-level abortion bans is significant, affecting millions of people's lives and forcing them to make difficult decisions. The future of abortion rights in the United States remains uncertain, with ongoing legal challenges and ballot measures reflecting a deeply divided nation.

Federal-level attacks on abortion access

The Hyde Amendment is an intrusive and unfair restriction on insurance coverage for millions of low-income people. It is an example of politicians interfering with access to safe and legal abortion.

The federal abortion ban criminalizes abortions in the second trimester of pregnancy, often the safest and best way to protect a pregnant person's health. This ban affects patients who need second-trimester abortions and their doctors. It also abandons over 30 years of precedent that put patients' health first when restricting access to abortion.

Another federal-level attack on abortion access is the push for a nationwide 20-week abortion ban. Anti-abortion politicians have been advocating for this unconstitutional ban for years. States that have passed 20-week bans have forced people into tragic situations, such as needing to end a pregnancy for serious medical reasons but being unable to do so.

In addition to these attacks, federal-level efforts to restrict abortion access also include attempts to pass targeted restrictions against abortion providers (TRAP laws), mandatory ultrasounds, waiting periods, and biased counseling requirements. These measures create unnecessary barriers and infringe on people's right to make their own personal medical decisions.

State-level attacks on abortion access

Some of the ways in which states have attacked abortion access include:

• Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws, which place unreasonable and medically unnecessary requirements on health care centers, such as regulating the width of hallways. The real goal of TRAP restrictions is to shut down abortion providers when they are unable to comply.
• Unconstitutional abortion bans at specific weeks of pregnancy, such as six weeks.
• Non-surgical abortion restrictions, or blocking access entirely. In states where these restrictions have been passed, some women have been forced to have a surgical procedure when they would have chosen a non-surgical abortion.
• Biased counseling, mandatory ultrasounds, and waiting periods of up to 72 hours. For example, some states require ultrasounds before women can get an abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
• "Personhood" amendments, which could interfere with personal, private, medical decisions relating to birth control, access to fertility treatment, management of a miscarriage, and access to safe and legal abortion.

In addition to these legislative attacks, there is also a history of anti-abortion violence in the US, including vandalism, arson, bombings, stalking, assault, kidnapping, attempted murder, and murder directed at individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling.

The Hyde Amendment and federal abortion ban

The Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortions, except in cases where the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman, or is a result of rape or incest. Introduced in 1976 by Republican Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois, it was first passed by Congress in 1977, four years after the Roe vs. Wade decision. The amendment was named after its chief sponsor, Henry Hyde, and was one of the first major legislative gains for the anti-abortion movement in the US.

The Hyde Amendment has been re-enacted every year since 1976, but the exceptions have varied. For example, the 1978 Amendment included new exceptions for rape survivors and incest cases. In 1980, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the original Hyde Amendment language, deciding that the single exception would be in cases where the woman's life is endangered. In 1993, President Clinton expanded the amendment to include exceptions for rape and incest cases.

The Hyde Amendment restricts abortion coverage for recipients of federally-funded healthcare, including women enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, Native American women, US servicewomen and veterans, women in the Peace Corps, federal employee families, D.C. women residents, and women in immigration detention facilities and prisons. It is a discriminatory policy that has been included in annual spending bills since 1976 and currently affects people in 34 states and the District of Columbia. The remaining 16 states provide their own funding for abortion coverage for people enrolled in Medicaid.

The amendment has had a significant impact on women's access to abortion services, particularly those from marginalised communities. It has been criticised for disproportionately affecting low-income women, women of colour, younger women, and immigrants, with an estimated 42% of abortion recipients living below the poverty line. Since its passage, more than one million women have been unable to afford abortions. The amendment has also contributed to a patchwork of abortion coverage across the country, making access to vital healthcare dependent on an individual's state of residence.

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